Sculpture
fiberglass, urethane, rubber, metal, plastic, fabric, and metal base
In one of his most important works from the 1990s, Tomato Head (Green), Paul McCarthy creates a life-size comic figure to explore the relationship between modern culture, consumerism, and innocence. The allegories of a beloved and immediately recognizable cast of characters have been subtly changed or adulterated to produce unsettling and unnerving works. Tomato Head (Green) plays on the name and appearance of the iconic children’s toy Mr. Potato Head. McCarthy’s human figure with an enlarged cartoonish tomato as a head transforms the notion of a children’s toy into a sinister work of art that perturbs certain aspects of American culture.